112th Congress Legislation

Under the Restoring GI Bill Fairness Act of 2011, eligible student veterans were given the ability to remain in the school of their choice without incurring severe fee increases. To learn more about the bill and the GI Bill, click here.

The VOW to Hire Heroes Act is a comprehensive jobs bill to reduce veteran unemployment by retraining veterans to make them more competitive in today’s job market. The Veterans Retraining and Assistance Program (VRAP) is the cornerstone of this legislation, providing up to 12 months of Montgomery GI Bill benefits to unemployed veterans between the ages of 35 and 60. To learn more about the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, click here.

Status: Public Law 112-56 (House-passed: October 12, 2011)

Learn how the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 is helping unemployed veteranshere.

The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 is a comprehensive, bipartisan, bicameral legislative package to provide for the needs of veterans, their families, and survivors through improved healthcare, housing, education, and memorial services. Designed to meet the challenges veterans face today, the legislation also expands the accountability and transparency of the Department of Veterans Affairs, ensuring VA is responsible to those it serves—America’s veterans. To learn more about the provisions in The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, click here.

Provisions in the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 include:

Status: Public Law 112-154 (House-passed: May 23, 2011 and July 31, 2012)

To learn more about the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, click here.

Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2011 (H.R. 2349, as amended)

Introduced by Rep. Jon Runyan

The Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2011 establishes a retraining program for employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration who are responsible for VA compensation and pension benefit claims. **All provisions of H.R. 2349 are now law as part of H.R. 1627 as amended, except for H.R. 1898, which is pending in the Senate.

Provisions:

H.R. 923 (Introduced by Rep. Alcee Hastings): Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2011 exempts reimbursement of expenses related to accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss from determinations of annual income with respect to pensions for veterans and surviving spouses and children of veterans, and for other purposes.

H.R. 2383 (Introduced by Rep. Bill Johnson): Modernizing Notice to Claimants Act authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use electronic communication to provide required notice to claimants for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary.

H.R. 1898 (Introduced by Rep. Denny Rehberg): Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act would clarify the conditions under which veterans may be treated as adjudicated mentally incompetent by the VA to receive or transport firearms.

This bill contains the major medical facility project authorizations requested by the Administration for FY2013, consistent with discretionary appropriations that will be provided to VA. The legislation also extends for one year certain long-standing existing authorities important to providing services to our veterans that would otherwise expire this year.

H.R. 6375, as amended, would:

Authorize $222,000,000 for the construction of a mental health building at the VA Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

Authorize $155,200,000 for the construction of a spinal cord injury center at the VA Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

Authorize $41,000,000 to renovate the surgical suite and operating rooms at the VA Medical Center in Miami, Florida.

Authorize $377,200,000 to be appropriated for FY2013 to carry out the major medical facility projects as noted above in Seattle, Washington, and Dallas, Texas.

Extend through October 1, 2013, specified authority for procedures on liquidation sales of defaulted home loans guaranteed by VA.

Extend through December 31, 2013, specified authority to operate the VA Regional Office in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines.

To require the Transportation Security Administration to comply with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (H.R. 3670)

Introduced by Rep. Timothy J. Walz

H.R. 3670 would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to comply with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) when considering employment of members of the National Guard and Reserve.

The Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012 would direct VA to improve outreach and transparency to student veterans by providing more information on institutions of higher learning via VA.gov.

Additional Provisions:

H.R. 4115 (Introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers): Helping Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Return to Employment at Home Act would direct the Secretary of VA, as a condition of a grant or contract to a state for certain veterans’ employment and training programs, to require the state to demonstrate consideration of military training received by a veteran when approving or denying a commercial drivers license or a certification to be a nursing assistant or certified nursing assistant, a registered nurse (RN), or an emergency medical technician (EMT).

H.R. 4079, as amended (Introduced by Rep. David McKinely): The Safe Housing for Homeless Veterans Act would require recipients of grants and other assistance from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the provision of housing and other services for homeless veterans to comply with codes relevant to operations and level of care provided.

H.R. 3337, as amended (Introduced by Rep. Todd Akin): The Open Burn Pit Registry Act would establish an open burn pit registry to ensure that members of the Armed Forces who may have been exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits while deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq receive information regarding such exposure from VA as more data becomes available.

The Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012mandates that all VA fiduciaries submit to a background and credit check, as well as institute an appeals process to ensure that veterans and their families have recourse should they lose confidence in a VA-appointed fiduciary in order to cut down on fraud within VA’s Fiduciary Program. Furthermore, this bill will add a layer of protection to a veteran’s savings, and decrease the amount of money a fiduciary may receive as a commission. H.R. 5948 also includes provisions to establish a Place of Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery, ensures that religious and other expressions of mourning are allowed at National Cemeteries, and prohibits VA employees who violate civil law from receiving incentives and awards.

Additional Provisions:

H.R. 5735, as amended (Introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers): Would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a Place of Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery for the remains of servicemembers killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any subsequent war if the remains are unidentifiable or unclaimed.

H.R. 2355 (Introduced by Rep. Vicki Hartzler): The Hallowed Grounds Act would prohibit persons convicted of certain sex offenses to be interred at national cemeteries or Arlington National Cemetery.

H.R. 2720 (Introduced by Rep. John Culberson): Would prohibit VA from interfering with the content of a funeral on VA property, so long as it is in line with the last will and testament of the individual being interred.

H.R. 5881, as amended (Introduced by Rep. Jon Runyan): The Access to Veterans Benefits Improvement Act would provide certain employees of Members of Congress and certain employees of local governmental agencies with access to VA case-tracking information.

H.R. 4481, as amended (Introduced by Rep. Phil Roe): The Veterans Affairs Employee Accountability Act would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that no employee of VA, who knowingly violates any civil law, receives any retention incentive, payment, or award for or during the year of such violation.

Establishes a ceiling on VA bonus and incentive payments.

Status: Pending in Senate (House-passed: September 19, 2012)

I know there is no commitment more important to our country than the solemn vow we have made to the men and women in our armed forces.-Chairman Phil Roe, M.D.